This was my 6th Dead show, and my 4th of 1969. The atmosphere was electric! Dupree's opener, and the first High Time for me. This was my 2nd Alligator, and the first where I knew what it was, and it was Herculean! Jerry at his joyfully melodic best. Then they morphed into TOO! A haunting DDHNM followed by a rousing Lovelight, (which is clipped on this recording).
'68-'74 were my favorite years of shows attended, but 68-70 were the most dramatic for me. That's when they showed you the light shrouded in a powerful darkness!

MrHungryHippo is not being racist, he is calling out Phil or Jerry at the start of the introduction for saying "People of New York... We Space N*ggers greet you" @ 0:11 in the introduction track.

Dunno why they thought that was appropriate or funny, but that's what it sounds like.

Can somebody please pull the comment thread from that "MyHungryHippo" troll. We don't need any racist invective here. Thank you.

I wish there was a better recording of this alligator. Brilliant show!

Hey Opener - my 1st Dead show was the next nite - I'd never heard of your band B4 or after and don't remember what or how you guys played. Could you fill in some of the blanks?
And I have yet to find an accurate setlist - what do remember of the setlist.
Thanks - JMac

I completely agree with happy to be alive!!!!

Amazing for 69, and although there may be better quality out there, hopefully we can all agree that having this show up on this site is a national treasure.

Love it, all the way through.

this is a smokin version of a great 69 show. any heads who truly love the dead, and want to appreciate all the levels they showed up for us at, know that in 69, the taping scene ain't what it is today. given that, this show rips, and is a gem to be found and treasured by all with the ears to hear the greatness that is the Grateful Dead.......
death don't have no mercy, even for those who complain about sound quality and these shows that are so graciously gifted to us to listen to and enjoy.....

http://youtu.be/z7JCNqKUuLM

WHAT the fuck?

Sound Quality is about a 3, but given how old it is, 4 for availability. It sounds nicer than many of the 1970 boards which seem to be hit or miss for some reason, compared to the amount availible and the quality of the 69' boards.

Don't know how i missed this show before, a few highlights worth mentioning:
- Last performance of Dupree's til the NW Paramount 1977.10.2 show.
- First Dire Wolf with Jerry on vocals instead of Bob (despite being a Hunter/Garcia song, Weir took on vocals while Jerr played petal steel in earlier renditions). Jerr even introduces it accordingly, letting everybody know the he is in charge.

It would be nice to have a more complete SBD, with a full High Time and Lovelight, but i'm just happy that we have what we do. The Post Drums Jam is nice too, nothing earth shatteringly unique, but good primal dead jamming.

A solid 4 for historical importance, Jerr on Pedal Steel, and good energy. It would be 5 if it was more complete with maybe a Miller remaster. (HINT HINT!!!)

New York shows are always full of energy, excitement, creativity, fun, love, oh, and New Yorkers!

"We Space Ni@@ers Greet You!" Is spoken into the mic by someone...

Bobby tells stories during intro to kill time.

That "Bootleg" Sound...ah...it's like developing a taste for Alligator Wine...

The sound is only hissy when the dynamics of the music are low. I am thankful these recordings don't skip like my LP's. Skippies freak out about skipping and Hissies freak out about hissing but Hippies don't freak out about being hip.

Alligator/drums is an audience recording, poor quality, mono.

One Minute and 50 seconds into "drums" the sound returns to stereo, soundboard, high quality audio (with hiss present when music is played soft) and continues that way until the end of the show.

Exceptional performance, fantastic crowd, 5 stars.

Eat, drink, be merry and listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD.

Thanks for the love.

I'm pretty sure that's Phil Lesh who interrupts Jerry, but I could be wrong.

I dont know what you guys are talking about. the sound quality is top notch for being recorded in 1969. Everything is mixed pretty well. Bobbys jokes at the beginning of the set are priceless. lol hes so corney, but I guess thats why we love him. Hard to handle has so much soul, Pig pen's had that crunchy blues soul, that they lost after his passing. Casey Jones was a supperb rendition. Big boss man and momma tried were both great, I just love momma tried, I think phil was singing durring momma tried as well. I always love hearing Phil sing, Something the later years missed. up until I suppose Post-dead stuff where phil sings. High time was beatrific. But this god damn recording cuts out. Figures the best song it cuts out on. The vocals are pretty schetchy on allagator and then it cuts out. Great early drums. I love it when he starts in on the trimboli. The jam after drums is really hoppin, lots of energy, the band seemed to know where they wanted to go and went there. I've been listening to alot of late 80s for the last week or so. So I'm use to the jams not always comeing out right, but thats what its about taking risks. The Other One was ok, nothing special. and then what happend to Cryptical Envelopment? It says it in the description yet its not on the stream. Death dont have no mercy started kinda slow but the solo later in the song rocked so much. wow!

In retrospect after listening to the whole show the first half of the show was incredible. All the way up threw momma tried. After that I think that problems with the recording made it hard to really get into. Usually they use the first part to get into the pocket and then the last part of the show to really get down and create something new.

the sound on this one is pretty poor, but the show has plenty of gems, like the Hard to Handle and Silver Threads with Jerry on the Pedal Steel. Love this Dire Wolf too.

Hey Capn, there's no good lovin here, so...what is so fantastic?

Good Show (3.5 stars) - (Cuts + Sound Problems) = 2 stars.

fantastic good lovin

I remember being at the NY State pavillion in 1965 as a kid, it was so fine with the large Texaco sponsered NY State Map that took up the whole floor, the fact that this Pavillion is still there(though in crumbling condition)on the fairgrounds makes it all the more worthwhile to dowload this show,since it is a unique show for the Dead...ditto the next night with a truly great Dark Star.....too bad the quality is only B quality but its well worth a burn.....

I always loved this tape for the fantastic sound of the drums.

Pedal steel on Hard to Handle? It has to be heard to be believed.

Great early version of Dire Wolf -- one of my favorites.

Also one of the best Dupree's ever, for the drums (as I mentioned) and Garcia's vocals.

What a night!!!!!
The Pavilion is an open air auditorium in the round.
All sides open.
The floor is mosaic tile of New York State.
The roof is suspended stained glass.
I was 15 and so was my girl.
It was our 1st Dead show.
Dead Freaks were pre Dead Heads.
Tribe played.... pretty cool
As the Crawdaddy Mag review goes ... The Cock ie; Joe Cooker, "Let out the scream of his life".
PiG was the man.
The boyz jumped & bumped with him.
They Fired on all cylinders.
What else can I say.
It wasn't "The Best".... They were all "The Best".
Thankx for saving this one.

this nite and the next were the 2 that my band .tribe..opened for the dead and joe cocker..an experience i'll never forget..jerry was on steel and the sound was not great the first nite. the next nite the dead were on and we were invited to sit on the stage,the sound was great and i hope that my memory never fades

i love you 69!!!! this show needs some attention....long jam after alligator is nicey.......also love the hard to handle with garcia on steel........kick ass hissy quality though